August 2010 Archives

The 2011 Arena Football League regular season has been extended from 16 games to 18, Commissioner Jerry Kurz announced Monday. The league will consist of 19 teams and each will play 18 regular season games, with the option of two preseason games. The change was passed in an ownership vote last week during the league's Board of Directors meeting in Phoenix, AZ.

The AFL is adding teams in Philadelphia, Pittsburg, San Jose and Kansas City.

Lindsay Munday, a former lacrosse All-American for Northwestern, has been named the head women's lacrosse coach at Mount St. Mary's. Munday has served the last four years as an
assistant coach to Kelly Amonte Hiller and has played a key role in helping Northwestern to five national titles since 2005.

John Shurna scored a team-high 17 points and Drew Crawford added 14 of his 16 points
in the first half as the Northwestern men's basketball won the opening game of its
tour in Italy 67-61 over AB Latina in Latina, Italy, Monday evening. The Wildcats
trailed 7-3 early on, but led the remainder of the contest and by as many as 13.
Alex Marcotullio chipped in with 11 points, while Crawford had a team-leading 7
rebounds.

The Wildcats' next game is scheduled for 11 a.m. Central time Wednesday when it
takes on Liomatic Perugia in Perugia, Italy.

With injuries mounting and international
absences to battle through, the Chicago Red Stars fell to the Washington
Freedom, 2-0, on Thursday at the
Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md.

Chicago and starts up a three-game homestand,
starting with a 5 p.m. match on Sunday against FC Gold Pride at Toyota
Park in Bridgeview. The match is televised live on Fox Soccer Channel.

The Freedom (6-8-7, 25 points)
currently holds the fourth playoff position if the season ended today.
Sky Blue FC is in fifth (6-9-4, 22 points) and the Red Stars in sixth
with a 5-10-6 record and 21 points.

The Red Stars' injury bug continued Thursday as they already were entering the match without Kate Markgraf (concussion).

Red
Stars forward Jessica McDonald made her first WPS start, but her day
ended early when she was taken off the field in a stretcher in the 12th
minute. Red Stars Head Athletic Trainer Laura Behr said that McDonald
tore her patellar tendon and is out for the remainder of the season.
Chicago had to burn one of its substitutions early when Nikki Washington
officially entered the match in the 16th minute.

In the second half, Red Stars midfielder Formiga sprained her ankle and was replaced by Lydia Vandenbergh in the 63rd minute.

Along
with the injuries, Chicago had to play Thursday without England
international midfielders Karen Carney and Katie Chapman, who are
overseas preparing for a World Cup qualifier against Austria on
Saturday.

Developmental midfielder and 2010 WPS draft selection
Sophie Reiser made her WPS debut when she replaced Washington in the
68th minute, leaving Chicago with a roughly 25-minute span with no
remaining substitutions.

Developmental defender and recent
signing Christie Shaner made her Red Stars debut, helping Chicago in the
central defense with Markgraf out

Linebacker DeJuan Alfonzo - who
earlier was named the AFL's Ironman of the Year - and
rookie kicker Chris Gould - the league's Kicker of the Year - were named First Team All-Arena. For Alfonzo, it marked the
third-consecutive season in which he was named First Team All-Arena.

Chicago Rush
kicker Chris Gould has been named the Arena Football League's Kicker of
the Year,.

Gould (6-0, 205, Virginia) enjoyed the
best season ever for a Rush kicker, setting team single-season records for
scoring for a kicker (146), extra points made (113), extra points attempted
(121) and consecutive PATs converted (35) in his first season with the team.

Overall, Gould converted 113 of 121 PAT
attempts and 11 of 16 field goal attempts. He led all AFL kickers in
scoring with 146 points and finished second in the AFL in made field goals and
PAT percentage, converting 93.3% of his extra point attempts.

Chicago Rush wide receiver/linebacker DeJuan Alfonzo has been
named the Arena Football League's JLS Ironman of the Year.

One
of the game's most complete players, Alfonzo was a major factor on
offense, defense and special teams in 2010 for a Chicago Rush squad that finished
10-6 and advanced to the playoffs for the ninth-consecutive season.

Chicago Rush wide receiver/linebacker DeJuan Alfonzo has been
named the Arena Football League's JLS Ironman of the Year.

One
of the game's most complete players, Alfonzo was a major factor on
offense, defense and special teams in 2010 for a Chicago Rush squad that finished
10-6 and advanced to the playoffs for the ninth-consecutive season.

The Chicago Red Stars moved defender and midfielder Lydia
Vandenbergh to the organization's first-team roster. Per team policy,
terms of her contract are not released.

Vandenbergh has spent the
2010 season as a developmental player for Chicago, playing in three
matches (one start) and logging 109 minutes.

"I think her
versatility is her biggest asset," Red Stars coach Omid Namazi
said, in a releas. "She's able to play in the midfield and on the left side as a
defender, and that gives us different options where we can be flexible
with where she plays. She's a steady player who doesn't make a lot of
mistakes, and she's a calming influence."

Chicago Red Stars medical staff confirmed midfielder and Oswego, native Julianne
Sitch will miss the remainder of the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer
season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and former St. Viator star and developmental player Elise Weber with a labral tear of
her left hip -- an injury that occurred during training. "Julianne
Sitch is a role player who's got the heart of a lion," Red Stars Head
Coach Omid Namazi said in a release. "She works her butt
off, and to replace her is tough."

Evans, a
former Honda Award winner as NCAA Player of the Year in softball, was
named an assistant coach on Aug. 4. She replaces pitching coach Cat
Osterman, who resigned following the 2010 season.

In 2009,
Evans was an assistant coach on the Dutch National Team and helped guide
the Netherlands team to its first European Championship title in 19
years. She was the pitching coach for the Dutch National Team in the
2010 World Championships in June.

Findlay
has been a volunteer assistant coach with the Blue Demons the last two
seasons.

Findlay
completed her college career in 2008, helping the Wolverines to a pair
of Big Ten regular-season championships, two Big Ten Tournament titles
and four NCAA Tournaments.

In
2005---the year Michigan won the national championship on Findlay's
game-winning home run---she was named the NCAA Tournament's Most
Outstanding Player.

The Chicago Red Stars signed Spanish international forward
Veronica Boquete accodring to a release from the team.

Boquete recently led the Buffalo Flash to the 2010
United Soccer Leagues W-League Championship on July 31. Boquete scored
two goals, including the game-winner in the 63rd minute, as Buffalo
defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps, 3-1, for the title. She earned
W-League Championship Most Valuable Player honors.

"We saw her in
the W-League final and we felt she's the type of player that can help
us in our quest to be more attack-minded, create more opportunities and
score more goals," Red Stars coach Omid Namazi said in a release. "She has a
good soccer IQ and good intelligence in the final third. It's apparent
that she's got some ability."

Boquete is available to play in the Red Stars' match against FC Gold
Pride at 9 p.m. tonight [Saturday] in Hayward, Calif. She will wear No. 19.

Ikidi is under contract with Damallsvenskan
organization Linkoping FC in Sweden, and Red Stars coach Omid
Namazi said, in a release, that this is a long-term decision geared toward the Red Stars' 2011
season plans. The 23-year-old defender will bring some versatility to
the Red Stars in the future, especially with her experience playing both
on the defense and at forward.

"We're looking for her as a
long-term option who can play at center back or on the outside," Namazi said in the team's release. "That's an area where we are too thin
right now, and adding Ikidi would build some depth there."